SURPRISE YOURSELF

In everyone’s life there comes a time when you believe that everything is finished, as if there is nothing to look forward to. The people you once loved dearly are gone, even the work that was more like a hobby doesn’t seem captivating. But as Louis L’Amour puts it, this is the stage of a new beginning. But how does one starts afresh in such a lowly phase of life?

Astonishingly, the answer came from my mother. She reminded me of how I have always used to challenge myself in a situation of adversity and came out with flying colors but this time I need to take a step further and ‘surprise myself’. Do things which normally I wouldn’t do. She told me not to be held by inhibitions and asked me to just go ahead and do things and my devil-may-care attitude will take care of the rest.

After giving it a quick thought, I realized, how bold and yet at the same time true, the suggestion was. Homologating the idea to my actions will only add the lost thrill missing in my life. It could rejuvenate the spark that once turned “Prince” into a “PAAPI” – (btw, I loved the latter one). Thanks for the suggestion Mom. TAKEN.

The RULERS & The RULED

As 'authoritarian' as it may sound but I have always perceived that people can mainly be bifurcated into two major categories. The ones who are 'The Rulers' and the others who are being 'Ruled'. This division is not based on any social and political status but more on a mental province. If we take a careful look around, we shall find enormous evidences that fortify my statement.

Now, before I delve into this topic any further, let me elucidate who 'The Rulers' & 'The Ruled' basically are. Fundamentally, Rulers refers to those who are the leaders, be it any discipline. These can be easily identified in a crowd as they possess some radical notion of their own. Their set of thoughts are strongly fabricated with each other. On the other end, Ruled refers to the general followers who are eagerly looking forward to someone to guide them in a particular direction. These people lack the courage to take initiative and do not have a sovereign thinking of their own. In the absence of a leader these people may lead a wasted life. Whereas the Ruler tries to break the barriers and tries to do what has not been attempted so far, the Ruled remains conservative. A Ruler is like the Sun of our solar system while the Ruled are like the other planets revolving around it. Imagine, what would have happened if the Sun have been missing from our solar system ??.. The same funda is applicable in our world as well.

Now, the million dollar question here is this, 'What would you like to be in the first place, A Ruler or The Ruled'? Subsequently, this gives rise to yet another question i.e 'Is it in our hands to make this decision'? The firm and resolute heart of A Ruler will definitely say 'yes' whereas the quivering heart of The Ruled will remain uncertain. It is commonly said that A Man is known by the choices he makes. While a Ruler remains firm in his choices and takes an uncompromising stand in its pursuit, the Ruled finds it a lot difficult to make a choice and even when he does make one, he stands diffident towards it.

So, let us just say that it is not upon us to decide which category we end up in. Inadvertently, we fall into our place, just like we take our seat in a classroom. All these things materialize according to a system. Astonishingly, everything is channeled in harmony with the system. The example of the solar system cited above is a clear indication of how everything has its own value. No doubt that the Sun remains of paramount importance to its acolytes but what if all the other planets turned out to be like it. The system shall collapse fatally. Similarly, if everyone turned out to be the Rulers, then there shall be utter chaos and bedlam in our world.To maintain the harmony, few are chosen among the rest to keep a check that the system works smoothly as ever. So, if you happen to be the chosen one then remember that your responsibility towards the others has grown manifold.

Salvation Lies Within

Life has never been a symbol of perfection but just a shining mirage of it. Most of the time we keep nagging about something or the other without realizing the fact that we are blessed with the power to amend it. Constantly complaining won't get us anywhere. One must understand that salvation lies within i.e the power to redeem ourselves lies in our own grumpy hands. It is upon us to decide whether we want eternal happiness in life or to levy ourselves with misery and sorrow.

Most of the people talk about what they deserve in life and keep accusing their fate for having not acquired something which they thought they deserved. What they forget here is this that "Deserve has got nothing to do with it". If one really deserves something then he or she does actually achieve it no matter what. It is clearly known to all of us that Man is the maker and breaker of his fate and if he is firm in his resolve, he can overcome all odds.

Recently, I moved in a new apartment. One day, I discovered a small note at the back of the kitchen door which was left by the former tenant. It was a riveting note on WORK which connotes that it is the biggest solution to all our problems. Problems exist because we choose not to act on it but the moment we do, it vanishes like a ghost in thin air. So WORK, WORK & WORK sincerely.

Now, before I put an end to this note, I would like to remind that nagging is the chore of the weak. Rarely would you find strong people in a shrewish state. Instead, they always somehow find solutions to their troubles and choose to act upon it. This is how they have done it and this is the same way I shall do it too.

We all have our secrets

Have we ever wondered that we are living in a world full of secrets..?? The mere existence of our world is one of the most darned secrets to which the scientists haven't managed to find an answer till date. Anyway, I won't hash out any such secrecies here. Here, I will primarily focus on the secrets that lie deeply embedded within us. The secrets to which we are the only confidants. 

Principally, there are two forms of secrets. One's which we keep from others and the others which are kept from us. There are a few things in life which we like to keep it ourselves. Now, the question here is why..?? Is it because we are ashamed of it or is it out of guilt or is it because there is a sense of fear that it might reveal who we actually are. I guess the last one is the most prominent one. Believe it or not but deep down inside we all have an ugly side to ourselves which we are always trying to conceal. We try to cover it with an invisible cloak hoping that it would help escape the attention of the others but the question is "Can we ever manage to hide something forever..??" The answer is a clear no.

Now, lets take a look at the secrets which are snowballed out of guilt or shame. Guilt pertaining to our misconduct in the past can leave nasty scars on our soul and in an attempt to bail out of such guilts, we start concealing things without having a clue that this very guilt is slowly and steadily trying to strangulate us with each and every passing day. Like a python, it tightens up its grip with each fading breath till the moment arrives when you start choking. These are like having poison in your veins waiting for the right moment to strike.

In the nutshell, we all have shared and kept secrets. If by any chance, we have kept something close to ourselves then the obvious reason would be that we don't expect anyone else to understand why we did so. We all have a rational understanding of what to share and what not to. If someone is keeping something secretive then his judgement needs to be respected and not to be blamed.

If the Idea is PERFECTION....Will the game ever end..??

 Perfection.....how do we define it..?? The dictionary says its a state of being without any defect or flaws but what it fails to inform is this that such a state does not exist. Flummoxed..?? Even I was perplexed by the idea but after giving it a careful thought I came to realize how true it is.

Now, the first query that comes to our mind is this - "Why can't we achieve perfection..??" The answer to that probably would be is that Perfection is something which none of us has ever seen. Its just an approximation of our minds of how it would be. Secondly, we are constantly critical of ourselves. Whenever we think that we are close to attaining perfection, we somehow realize that something is amiss or lets say something could have been done better. So, in a way we are our own hurdle. The human mind is such that it can never be satisfied. We are constantly craving for improvements and once we have accomplished it we strive for more.

This insatiable pursuit of perfection leads us to excellence to achieve at a high level, to be the best that one can be. But it has an other facet as well. The emphasis on perfection has led many people to feel disappointed that their idea has not become absolutely perfect even though they may have had great improvement, while others are discouraged from starting the process of improvement because the apparent demand is so daunting.

The best way to strive for perfection is to think and be positive. Then only we could find answers and solutions. But, since its an unending game, the same question will keep nagging us till the end...."Have we achieved perfection..??" the answer to which we will never know.

Write your own SUCCESS STORY

My last conversation with Nikku Bhaiya brought about faint memories of ASMS. Sipping over a cup of coffee, I quickly recapitulated my orientation days in college where Mr. Sandeep Marwah interacted with us for the first time. He was quick to eviscerate any rosy thoughts of making an easy stride in the Film & Television Industry and brought the fact, to the fore that we will have to find our own way.

Nikku Bhaiya was no different. He too was digging over the same fact that you will have to write your own success story. Assistance may be provided on your way but the drive to keep pushing constantly towards the goal has to come from within. He even cited examples of a few stars who were very popular in the circuit but he did not think of their journey as a success story since everything came to them easily. They didn't have to push hard to earn it. While the journey of stars like Amitabh Bachchan & ShahRukh Khan were the real success stories in his book.

Without the shadow of a doubt, Success do inflict a lot of pain before we achieve it and now I have come to realize why it is termed as "bitter sweet".  Its a very clever use of oxymoron. Bitter because of all the pain and trouble that one has to go through in order to achieve it and sweet because of its reward. It is said that "Success can be delayed but cannot be denied". Well, I have started writing. Lets see how the story unfolds :-)

Do your worst for I shall do Mine

In life, there strikes a phase when things do not turn out as we want them to. No matter how hard you try to rectify the things it remains the same. As a matter of fact, the more you try, the more it deteriorates. In such stages, you can’t do much but wait patiently along the shore and let the storm pass by. Here, I can recollect the lines of Alexandre Dumas from the novel “The Count Of Monte Cristo” in which he indites that Life is a storm. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shadowed on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout DO YOUR WORST 4 I SHALL DO MINE. Then the fates will know you. The lines are simple yet so incisive. The idea that he is trying to transmit over here is that life is not about jumping off boat at the first sign of trouble but about clinging on the sails when the going gets tough. The ones who manage to hang on finally find what they came looking for. Such is life and that’s how the proceedings goes.